‘Ample food and Sturdy Drink, A clean pillow for your head, And may you be forty years in heaven, B’for the Devil knows you’re dead.’ - Irish Luck

When searching for a hotel in Dublin, we wanted to stay somewhere close to St. Stephen’s Green. The Green is a beautiful park right in the heart of the city and is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street.

The Conrad Dublin is just around the corner and, following a recent €13m refurbishment, seemed the ideal place. I was already familiar with the Conrad group having recently stayed at the Conrad Algarve (link).

The Conrad Dublin is a luxury 5* hotel opposite Dublin’s National Concert Hall. The recent refurbishment was inspired by Dublin’s rich literary culture. All 192 bedrooms have been redesigned and a new lounge bar and an all-day brasserie have been added.

The lobby area is a stunning mix of marble and brass with pink and green leather banquette seating, inspired by the nearby Iveagh Gardens. The Gardens are perhaps not as well known as St Stephens Green but are equally as beautiful with a rosarium of pink roses and pale greens, the inspiration for the lobby’s colour scheme.

As soon as we checked in we went for brunch to The Coburg, a modern Irish Brasserie. The restaurant features equestrian detailing, inspired by the Royal Horse Bazaar, the headquarters of which was in Iveagh Gardens.

Stirrup fastenings and stitched saddlery leather details are all around. It also has it’s very own Champagne table. My kind of place!

The menu was so appealing we decided on two breakfasts each.

I had my usual egg florentine and my friend had smashed avocado. She also ordered pancakes with bacon and maple syrup while I had french toast. Unsurprisingly our eyes were bigger than our bellies and we were unable to finish the meals. We slipped into a food coma and nipped up to the room for a quick nap.

The bedrooms are a good size, marble bathrooms with wide baths add to the feel of luxury, as does the turndown service where Butler's chocolates are left as treats. Complimentary Wi-Fi is also available to guests and all bedrooms are equipped with mini bars.

After a busy day exploring Dublin, we returned to the hotel for a night cap. There are two bars in the hotel, Alfie Byrne’s and Lemuel’s. Alfie Byrne’s by Galway Bay Brewery, is more of a pub, with up to 33 craft beers on draught all made within the USA and Ireland, along with more than 30 USA and Irish whiskeys.

It has a totally different feel to the other two bar/restaurants with more of a an American sports bar theme.

We decided to try Lemuel’s, the new cocktail lounge. This bar is named after the fictional voyager, Lemuel Gulliver, from the classic novel Gulliver's Travels, written by Irish author Jonathan Swift. The theme spills over into the cocktail menu and takes you on Lemuel’s travels around the world. Including ‘Ship on the Rocks’, when Gulliver was shipwrecked after a storm blew him off course and so began his extraordinary journey, ‘Monkey See, Monkey Do’ and ‘Writers Block’.

After a couple of cocktails we too were blown off course and headed up to bed in readiness for a busy day exploring the next day…..